Running the Farm : Farming diary
Note: South Island farms will be about one month behind North Island farms
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Running The Farm
Farming Diary
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The 'Spring Flush' of pasture should have started to appear. But to see what is growing, get down on your hands and knees to have a close look at the sward. Note how much of a square metre is made up of grass species, especially perennial ryegrass which has a pink sheath at base and is shiny on underside of the leaf. Then check how much of the area is growing clover, how much weeds and how much is just bare ground and dung patches.
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 August can be a tricky month. The paddocks are filling up with lambs and calves in the North Island, and it's easy to think spring has arrived. Don't be fooled. There's time for an Antarctic chill to blows up through to make life difficult, especially for South Island farmers.
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 Just because dairy calves are arriving at the saleyards and there are some very early lambs around - mainly mistakes - don't assume that spring is here. The challenges left from the drought and slow winter feed recovery are a major concern.
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 June is going to be a peak month for stress on pastures, stock and humans. The effects of the summer and autumn drought, and the floods have already bitten deep with supplementary feed hard to find or outside many people's budget. Many farmers are not looking forward to spring as stock, especially cattle will show the stress of being in low condition for calving. Ewes will be also thin too so make sure you are not fooled by their wool cover.
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 Who in the Waikato would have thought, back in January, with the rain and surplus feed that they would be in the feed crisis they are now? There is a clear warning in this - plan for a series of dry seasons by having more than one season's supplements in store.
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 We're into autumn, and any benefits from the rains in January and early February have long gone. Parts of the North Island are now in serious trouble and have already used up their winter feed reserves. There was plenty of spare feed made in the early part of the season, but it's now becoming scarce and many farmers will be faced with the extra cost of buying in supplements, which will upset previous budgets. These dry seasons are a lesson, have more than one year's supplements on hand if you can.
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 March smells of Autumn, so some very serious planning needs to be done. After a long dry summer, many pastures will have to be resown. Pasture renewal is expensive, so get some good advice to find the most cost effective options. One thing is for sure - when the ground gets really wet again, weed seeds for the last 40 years will start to germinate.
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 Holidays are a memory and getting back into school routine is the next challenge. But so is the weather, especially when the Met services predicted 'showers' never turn out to be anything and it often seems to be a substitute for guessing. Before you get excited about a few mm of rain, check the evapotranspiration rate (check Met data in local paper) and see how much is lost each day from the soil - it can be scary.
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 Welcome to the New Year and the exciting challenges ahead! January is time to review your enterprise, how it went last year, and what will need changing for 2010. Making money is always difficult on a small block, and there's only so far you can go on cutting costs. Start by looking at your 2009 mistakes and learn from them. If you can't see what went wrong, then get some professional help or network through the website.
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 If you are leaving the property over the holidays, make early provision for someone to look after things, especially livestock and pets. Take a professional approach, and give them a clear list of written instructions with important information ready for them. Take time to walk the property with them and cover the important issues.
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 Pasture management is your main concern in November. It's "pasture panic time" when two things happen. First, you have to deal with pasture that can go crazy and start to seed in a matter of days. The second is that the first doesn't happen, and you wonder why the long-awaited 'spring flush' that all your neighbours are skiting about has not arrived at your place.
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 The 'spring flush' should not be far away, so it's time to get your management plans in order to handle it. With the way farm costs have risen, you cannot afford to waste any pasture because it has cost money to grow it. It has cost rent, rates, fertiliser, fencing and labour, so it's not for free. Consider using some Nitrogen fertiliser to get a pasture boost if growth is a slow, but don't view it as a magic fix.
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